Metal catalysts, such as nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), iron (Fe), and their alloys, have been extensively investigated for carbon nanotube growth by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). A typical means of growing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on the surface of a substrate is to deposit a thin film catalyst onto the surface. However, the thickness of catalyst is critical to the CVD grown CNTs in terms of their density, diameter, and length. Moreover, with Ni, Co, and Fe catalysts, it is difficult to control the diameter and density of CNTs due to their relatively high deposition rates and thickness sensitivity. On the other hand, field emission properties of CNTs are strongly dependent on their distributed density and aspect ratio. Thus, to control the growth of CNTs for a variety of applications, more types of catalyst and alloy need to be developed.